NYTimes Sues US Gov't To Know How It Interprets the PATRIOT Act 186
hydrofix writes "Techdirt has been following the story of the DoJ's classified interpretation of the PATRIOT Act. Specifically, it's all about Section 215, the so-called 'business-records provision,' which empowers the FBI to get businesses to turn over any records it deems relevant to a security investigation. Senators Ron Ryden and Mark Udall have been pushing the government to reveal how it uses these provisions to deploy 'dragnets' for massive amounts of information on private citizens 'without any connection to terrorism or espionage,' a secret reinterpretation that is 'inconsistent with the public's understanding of these laws.' After NYTimes reporter Charlie Savage had his Freedom of Information request denied, the NYTimes has now sued the government (PDF) to reveal how it interprets the very law under which it's required to operate."
Re:Law should be like code. Not up for interpretat (Score:4, Interesting)
That reminds me of these lines we put in our requirements.
1.3 Definitions
The following definitions are used throughout this document:
“Shall” defines a requirement that requires a waiver if not performed.
“Will” defines a function that is expected to be performed during the implementation of the Project’s Parts Program, however does not require a waiver when not performed.
“Should” defines a “best practice” and is strongly recommended but does not require a waiver when not performed.
I wrote a contract for a Company to build a test sled that would accelerate a 100 kg mass at 30m/s^2 in the horizontal and vertical orientation. They undersized the system so it could only do it in the horizontal orientation. They tried to claim that in the vertical it is already accelerating at 1g due to gravity.
Re:what I find most illumunating (Score:4, Interesting)
If I could vote in one constitutional amendment right now, it would be "No Secret Laws".
Then the courts would just declare a national security exemption. What's actually in the constitution doesn't matter, as long as the courts are willing to disregard it.